


The Inevitability of Fate

by spacedaydreamer



Series: safe end!junpei au [11]
Category: Zero Escape (Video Games), Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma - Fandom
Genre: Gen, also it's not all junpei's pov again (gasp), everyone is depressed, its the end of the world; but i definitely don't feel fine, safe end!junpei au, safe end!ztd au, some violence and injury; but mostly just angst and depression, there's more shippy stuff but we all know how it ends so still not tagging it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 12:31:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10020890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: Futility. In the end, life often seemed to be just that: a lesson in futility. No matter how noble the action, no matter how well intentioned or selfless you were, fate continues to march onwards without a second glance. Happiness may be closer than you think, yes- but the moment you try to grasp it, is the moment you'll lose it forever.





	1. Explanations

When Carlos found himself aware of his surroundings again, he realized that he was inside the lounge area- so then, the SHIFTing had worked! Aoi wouldn’t be there yet, but that worked to his advantage: he needed to talk to Junpei first.

“Hey, can I… can I talk to you quick?”

Junpei wasn’t near where he and Aoi had been standing, but it hardly took long for Carlos to catch up to him. He’d put a hand on Junpei’s shoulder in an attempt to get his attention, and Junpei nodded. This would be hard to do, but it was something that he _needed_ to say.

“Look, about that AB games… I betrayed you first. I broke your trust, and I… I don’t blame you for what you did. I’m sorry.”

It was clear that wasn’t what Junpei had expected to hear from him- the other man looked awkward, and he started scratching the back of his head. He figured Junpei remembered both rounds of the AB game, and how things had ended up for Carlos in both versions.

“No, um… it’s alright. What I did really wasn’t much better… let’s just call it even, ok? Leave it at that.”

Carlos was about to say more, when it became quite evident that Aoi had finally made the jump as well.

“WHAT IN THE _WORLD_ WERE YOU _THINKING?!_ ”

Carlos backed off when Aoi stormed over to Junpei, not wanting to interfere. Even if Junpei didn’t see it, Carlos could easily tell that they had something special together- they cared about each other, they just didn’t know how to express that. Hopefully, now would be the time that they could _finally_ explain things. When he’d remembered, he’d remembered many other timelines too- Junpei had done _anything_ for Aoi (even if that anything resulted in Carlos’s own death).

They spoke for a while, and Carlos tried his best not to eavesdrop (although, he didn’t do too well at that). He couldn’t hide a smile when he saw them hugging- they’d definitely cleared things up, then. They all spoke for a short while longer at the X-pass input device, but in the end, there was nothing that important to talk about- no, all that mattered was that they were going to get _out_. Junpei was quick to voice those thoughts, dismissing their previous conversation.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. We have the X-passes, we can get out. Let’s go now, guys.”

“Right. The first X-pass was SAVE.”

Carlos nodded and typed it in, but the screen gave an error.

“Wh-what? Aoi, are you _sure?_ ”

“Yeah, positive. Maybe try the other one- go with DOLL.”

Carlos tried that one as well, and again they got an error. Before any of them could say anything, an announcement played.

“X-passes are set… to their respective histories. X-passes from alternate timelines… are not applicable.”

“N-no…”

Carlos’s voice was weak, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Was everything… had everything been for nothing then? All the death, all the pain… in the end, it had just meant _nothing?_ Junpei was voicing the exact same concerns. He was despairing, laughing like a maniac, but there was no joy behind it. Only a cold, crushing emptiness.

“So… it was all for nothing, then. The bomb, the guns… my body was turned into _swiss cheese_. And all of this- all of it was for nothing? _ALL WE DID WAS DIE IN VAIN?!_ ” The laughter stopped as he screamed out, and Junpei looked to the ground. “Only one person… just _one more person_ needs to die.”

Carlos immediately turned to look at Junpei, shocked. No, he couldn’t be planning-

Before he could even react, Junpei had sprinted towards the door intending to get as far away as possible. That _idiot!_ Had he not been paying attention at all? Carlos and Aoi shared a quick glance before running after him, but they froze when the door opened before Junpei even reached it. He was suddenly sent flying across the room, and when they looked to see what had caused it- it was a little kid, with a strange object on his head? No, with strength like that, there was no _way_ it could be a kid. It had to be something else, maybe a robot? It seemed unlikely, given how lifelike its movements were… but it was too strong to be anything else.

It went after Aoi next, throwing him against a wall, and then it turned on Carlos. He couldn’t even react before he’d been punched- the strength was far beyond anything human, or even anything he’d ever heard of. It felt like he’d been hit by a truck, and he was sent flying, crashing hard into the X-door then falling to the ground in a helpless pile.

“D-dammit… he’s… so strong…”

Carlos couldn’t be sure, but he wouldn’t be surprised if he’d sustained internal bleeding after that hit. That really wasn’t good… even if they could deal with this kid, if he was bleeding internally, then Junpei and Aoi might not have to worry much about getting out after all.

The robot seemed to think nothing of them- well, judging by its previous words, he wondered if it _could_ think independently. It walked slowly to Carlos, glowing ‘eyes’ set directly on him.

“This is… not good…”

He had to think. There had to be a way out, there had to be _some_ other way- when memories that definitely did not belong to him pushed their way into his mind. It was of Q-team, in a room he’d never seen. There was the robot there, but he seemed… different. There was too little time for him to really analyse the memories, but it was _definitely_ different. The kid had thrown Eric against a picture, which had revealed a door- but why? Why, and more importantly _how_ , could he possibly remember _that?_ He was certain it wasn’t from his own memories. So then, was that what Aoi had meant by pulling information from the morphogenetic fields? His brain had somehow managed to pull the memories of someone else from the field, because they would be important in some way… he had no idea _how_ , but somehow, they’d be important.

Wait, what the hell was he doing?!

Carlos had been trying to calmly think through this, but now was _not_ the time for thought. The robot had reared back again, and slammed his fist forwards- Carlos managed to dodge, but just barely. He wobbled away, continuing to think, but all he could focus on was the robot following him, with intent to kill.

_Dammit… dammit, I don’t have enough time! I need time to **think** about this. I… I can SHIFT!_

He certainly had danger, which only meant he needed to go to another timeline, one where he’d have time enough to work through this. Once he’d done so, then he’d _definitely_ return- he’d return, and he’d save both Aoi and Junpei.

* * *

 The first thing Carlos noticed when his eyes opened in the new timeline was an intense pain, coming from his left forearm. He immediately bent over in pain, grasping to see what was the problem- and when he reached, he realized that there was something missing.

That something being his left hand.

“ _aaaAAAAAAUGH!_ ”

It hurt, but he forced himself to look around. The next thing he saw made his blood run cold- Aoi, dead on the ground. The memories from this timeline finally forced their way into his mind. The feeling of pain as the chainsaw tore through his flesh, the panic and animal instinct that’d moved his body, lodging the axe into Aoi’s throat, and the pure terror that overrode years of training. The one thing that Carlos _didn’t_ understand, however, were Aoi’s dying words.

_“M-Mira…. B-be careful… sh-she killed…”_

Mira killed someone- it couldn’t possibly be Aoi, as Carlos was painfully aware that the other him had done that, but he doubted he meant the executed D-team. The only other person dead in this timeline was Junpei… but how could _that_ be possible? There was no way to move between the wards, unless there was another trick to this place.

“ Shit… I can’t just keep thinking like this, I need to treat myself. Otherwise, I won’t last too long…”

He groaned in pain as he headed off to the infirmary, making sure to grab his bracelet before he did anything more. Never knew when it could come in handy, after all… As much as he didn’t like the thing, it was still important.

He was grateful to find that the infirmary was fully stocked with everything he could need. It was a bit hard taking care of things with only one arm, but he’d been a firefighter long enough to have had plenty of practice with injures, and the fact that there was some local anesthetic to numb the pain was helpful as well. He didn’t know how long it would last, but it was good enough for now…

“Well, time to think. Just… who _was_ that kid? He couldn’t be human, which means…. What does it mean?”

What possible importance could a robot have, in this situation? Had it been the one to kill Junpei, perhaps? No, given Aoi’s dying words, that seemed unlikely.

“Well, I have two things to do, then.”

Writing a note for Q-team, and going to examine Junpei’s body. He didn’t really want to do the latter, which meant it was time to find Gab instead. He was grateful that the little dog was just waiting around for him- it made it easy to send off the note for Q-team. He paused for a while after sending the Gab-letter, knowing exactly what he _had_ to do, but hardly prepared for it. If there was any hint to how he’d died, it would be on him, which meant he had no real choice. He'd have to examine the pieces of Junpei's corpse.

The trip to the pantry felt like an eternity, and Carlo held onto the axe with a tight grip. Perhaps it was bad luck to hold onto it, but it was the closest he had to anything for self-defence. There _was_ the chainsaw… but considering the pain his arm was in, he hardly felt like using _that_.

The room was just as it had been left the last time, with the door cut into shreds. Well, maybe ‘last time’ wasn’t really the right phrase, Carlos supposed, but it was hardly like could think of a better descriptor. He didn’t feel like playing semantics right now anyways- there were too many things to think of, that were too important. If he could solve how Junpei died here, then there was a chance that he could figure out how to move between wards. And if he could do _that_ , then it was possible they could run to ward D, talk to Phi, and figure out how to escape together. And even if not, they could probably get away from their attacker long enough to think of a way out.

The door to the freezer was open, but Carlos didn’t enter. He had no desire to see Junpei’s head again, once had been enough for him (even if it hadn’t been _him_ ). He instead started examining the other body parts- he felt wrong touching them, but he had no choice- all he could do was apologize to Junpei for this, and for not being able to save him.

Eventually, all there was left to examine was the torso. He hated doing so, but he moved the clothes around and clear as day, carved into Junpei’s skin on his chest, was ‘ _M I R A_ ’. It made no sense, but it proved one thing: Mira had killed Junpei.

“Then, there _has_ to be a way to move between wards. A secret Mira knows, that I don’t…”

Carlos was walking back to the infirmary and talking aloud to himself, making sure to watch around every corner. His emergency treatment had worked, but the anesthetic was wearing off. As well, the timer was almost up. If whatever had attacked them had done so because of a ‘rule violation’ the first time, then he doubted they’d take too kindly to him walking around while he was supposed to be unconscious- therefore, the infirmary was the smartest place to wait, think, and plan.

* * *

 The first time Carlos heard the X-pass announcement, he felt his blood run cold. Mira’s name was listed- of _all_ the people to die, it _had_ to be the one who’d killed Junpei, the one he had to question… _why?_ There was no answer, obviously, but he wondered anyways. He didn’t leave, though- he was still trying to figure things out. If Mira was dead, then that likely meant it was either Junpei getting revenge after his own death, or the same kid that he’d seen in his vision- the one who was very similar to the mystery attacker. After all, it couldn’t be Q, and it _definitely_ wouldn’t be Eric. So then who, and if it wasn’t Junpei… why?

That was the one thing he couldn’t figure out.

He spent the ninety minutes after that adding the mystery of Mira’s death onto the questions he needed to solve, but he wasn’t getting anywhere. He supposed it made sense- staying in one place was _hardly_ going to get him anywhere- but he was still worried about going back to the lounge. He decided that the only safe thing to do would be to bring the axe and hope that he wouldn’t get killed- but more than anything, he was _confused_ when he made it to the lounge. It looked the exact same in terms of structure, but the design of the walls, floors, and even the couches- everything was different.

“Where… where am I?”

He looked around, and his head turned when he heard more footsteps.

“Diana… Sigma? How’d you guys get here?”

No, that was a stupid question. He was the stranger here- so, could this possibly be ward D? He had no idea _how_ , but it had to explain _something_ … He wanted to say more, examine the situation further, when two things happened simultaneously. One, he noticed that the very kid he’d “seen” was with Diana and Sigma; and two, Sigma had started shouting at him.

“ _Don’t move! Drop it!_ ”

“Huh?”

“ _Drop the axe!_ ”

“Oh, uh… I think we’ve got a bit of a misunderstanding here…”

Carlos did as Sigma said, raising his hands- well, _hand_ \- in the air to show he meant no harm. Diana’s eyes only widened in shock as they focused on the stump that had once been his left hand, and he could see fear and worry battling on her face.

“Just _shut up!_ We _saw_ you kill Aoi, so don’t try to deny it!”

Sigma hadn’t stopped yelling, and he’d moved in front of Diana and the kid. Carlos could hardly blame him, considering the situation. He _was_ currently covered in blood, and had been holding the axe that had killed Aoi. If he’d been in Sigma’s situation, he wouldn’t have trusted himself either.

“S-still… Carlos, your injury…”

“That was Aoi. Uh, it should be fine for now, though…”

“ _Aoi_ did that?”

“There was… well, I’m not entirely sure what happened. I didn’t exactly see it for myself…”

He’d been told that Sigma was a SHIFTer, but Carlos doubted he’d believe him if he told the truth right now. He didn’t really seem too willing to listen, considering the glare he was giving him…

“Never mind that, look over there! At the X-pass input device!”

The kid was pointing at the device, that was smoking- it looked like it had been _shot_. Carlos stared at it, as Sigma started yelling again.

“Did you do that with the axe?!”

“What? No, that’s impossible! How could you make bullet holes with an axe, that doesn’t make sense.”

“Then _who did this?_ ”

“I did.”

Eric spoke up before anyone could say anything further, a shotgun gripped tightly in his hands. Carlos wasn’t sure why, but he was terribly uncomfortable watching him- he didn’t seem stable. It was as if even the slightest breeze could set him off, and push him into killing all of them.

“It’s hazy, but I remember what happened before I was put to sleep. That’s how I knew… there was a shotgun in the pod room.”

“Eric, don’t be rash.”

Sigma had turned his back to Carlos for the first time since they’d seen each other, and was now trying to reason with Eric. He didn’t look like he terribly wanted to listen to reason, however.

“Rash?”

“I’m telling you, _drop the gun._ ”

“Sorry, but _I can’t do that_. I have to shoot the one who did it. I know it had to be one of you… who killed my Mira.”

Carlos looked aside, at the others there. Diana and Sigma were here, despite their X-passes having been read, and the kid looked too much like the robot that had attacked him in the other history for him to be trusted. Yet, despite that, it was still _him_ that was the most suspicious one here- after all, they’d apparently watched him kill Aoi.

“Spit it out! I’ll spare the others, if you do.”

“H-h-hey, w-wait! Are you.. g-gonna…”

The kid’s voice was shaking as he spoke, and Carlos felt his suspicion dissolve. It wasn’t acting- the kid was genuinely terrified. Carlos wanted to smack himself for even having _considered_ the possibility that he’d been a murderer. He couldn’t be much older than 10, (although the exact age was hard to guess with his face obscured by that dome), so this entire situation… it had to be horrifying. Carlos figured that the look-alike that had attacked them must’ve been a robotic replica, something designed to make them distrust the kid. It had to be. He’d heard of those newer prosthetic limbs that looked almost exactly like human skin, so that just had to be what the robot was made from.

“Do you know how you can be sure to win at horse racing? You bet on _all_ the horses. If the killer doesn’t fess up… then I’ll just kill every last one of you!”

Eric, unaware of Carlos’s inner monologue, kept talking. His face was distorted by grief and insanity, and it was clear he wasn’t well.

“U-um… then, does that mean… you don’t believe me and Sigma?”

“You _kidding?_ Your whole _existence_ is suspicious! You guys must be some sort of ‘fake’ Diana and Sigma!”

“What? That’s absurd-“

“You’re the ones being absurd! Transport? Zooming through space-time? Hah- don’t make me laugh! If you’re gonna lie, come up with something better than that!”

“We’re _not_ making it up!”

Sigma was trying and failing to reason with Eric, who’d pointed the gun at him the moment he’d first started to argue with him.

“Don’t lie! _You’re_ the ones who killed Mira!”

“We _didn’t!_ ”

Diana’s voice was shaking, as though she was about to cry. Carlos could hardly blame her for it.

“Then _who the hell was it?!_ ”

“Ok, just calm down.”

“So, Carlos. Finally admitting it was you, huh?”

“No, it wasn’t me!”

The gun had been pointed at him the second he’d opened his mouth, and he knew he likely didn’t have much time to plead his case. If Eric was going to pin the blame on _anyone_ , it’d definitely be him, after all.

“ _Don’t. Play. Dumb._ I _know_ you were the one who killed Aoi- and you _probably_ killed _Junpei_ too!”

“I- I did kill Aoi, but I _didn’t_ kill Junpei. You can check his body if you don’t believe me- examine his torso.”

“You’re still a murderer though!”

“Yes, well- kind of? It was _another_ me!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I doubt you’d believe me if I explained it…”

“Go ahead and try me.”

“Well… I SHIFTed. From another history.”

“What- did you just say _SHIFT?_ ”

“So then, he’s like us… does that mean you transported too, Carlos?”

He’d at least gotten Sigma and Diana’s attention with that explanation, then. Sigma still seemed unwilling to outright trust Carlos, but he looked at least a bit more open to listening now. He cut in before Carlos could explain anything, shaking his head.

“That’s not quite it. The two are fundamentally different- SHIFT only sends your mind through space-time, while transporting sends entire physical bodies.”

“ _CUT IT OUT!_ I am so _sick_ of this _shit!_ We _all_ know that Carlos killed Aoi… so I’m telling you, the one who killed Junpei… _and_ the one who killed Mira was…”

“No way! I had nothing to do with the two of them- and besides, how could I get to ward Q?”

He knew right away that telling Eric- who was already unstable enough- that _Mira_ had killed Junpei (and it was therefore possible Junpei had somehow killed Mira in revenge, before bleeding out) would be about the last thing he’d want to hear right now, so it was much smarter to try pushing them in the other direction. As well, it was beneficial to Carlos. After all, if they could explain how he’d managed to get to ward D, then perhaps he could save Aoi and Junpei in the other timeline…

“But wait… aren’t we _in_ ward D right now? And, we just walked right over, into another ward…”

“There has to be some kind of secret door!”

“No… no, I don’t think that’s it.” Diana was shaking her head, and started looking around at the walls. Eventually, she seemed to decide upon something, and looked to Eric. “Can you shoot the wall, please?”

“What?”

“Please, just do it. I promise that it’ll explain everything.”

“Guh… fine.”

Eric didn’t look too pleased, but he turned to look at the wall, and fired. The effect was almost immediate: the textures of the wall appeared to “glitch out”, then they all disappeared, leaving everything with just a plain grey cover.

“You’re kidding me…”

Carlos couldn’t stop staring. This was insane- how did Zero even _make_ a technology like that? It had to be incredibly advanced, and he had no idea how it could possibly work. Diana didn’t seem too phased by it however, as she started speaking again.

“I knew it. It’s just like the healing room walls…”

“Healing room?”

“So then… we all really _were_ in the same ward.”

Again, Carlos found himself utterly shocked. The same ward- was there _only one ward?!_ That was both very good news and very bad news. If there was some method of escape from inside of the rooms of ward Q or ward D, then he could save Junpei and Aoi… but if there wasn’t, then he was stuck back where he’d started, with no way out.

“I think… I think this shelter never had wards in the first place. Does anyone have their map?”

Diana was looking at the group of them, And Carlos nodded. He’d put it in his pocked back at the vote, and it seemed like he’d kept it there in this timeline as well. He handed his over, and the kid handed Q team’s over, while Diana produced D team’s map.

“If we look at them all together… and just rotate the angles… yes!”

She was smiling and nodding to herself, having placed the maps onto the table.

“The lounges and decontamination rooms all line up, but look at the rooms and hallways. They overlay perfectly- there was only ever one ward!”

Everyone broke out into a chorus of muttering, all appearing to be as confused as Carlos was. It was the kid who eventually broke through the murmur, asking what Carlos assumed they’d all been thinking.

“So we were all together in one ward… but then, how did we never bump into one another?”

“That’s true… we should’ve seen each other during the vote at 13:30.”

Sigma’s point was a logical one, but Diana seemed to have a counter planned out for that as well.

“I think that was because of the bracelets. Oh, um… Carlos? Do you.. have yours?”

He smiled and nodded, pulling it from his pocket. He was suddenly quite glad he’d decided to pick it up, although it wasn’t stopping the awkward look Diana had whenever she saw his arm.

“So, what about my bracelet?”

“Could you check your current time?”

That was simple enough to do. Carlos hit the buttons on the side of the bracelet and read the time out to the group, 23:23.

Next was Eric and the kid, who’s bracelets showed 21:23. Finally was Diana and Sigma, who showed 19:23.

“It’s just like I thought…”

“So, which one is the right time?”

“That isn’t really what matters, Eric. The fact that the displayed time is different is what we should focus on. How about we use C team’s time as a base- that puts Q team at two hours behind, and D team at 4 hours behind. The bracelets have a built in time lag, which means Q team didn’t vote at 13:30, but…”

“At 15:30!”

The kid had spoken up- he seemed excited to be figuring everything out with the group. Diana gave him a gentle smile, and nodded in agreement.

“And then D team voted at 17:30…”

“So you’re saying the three teams were never awake at the same times?”

The kid looked from Sigma to Carlos and nodded to both of them, then took up the mantle of explanation.

“Yeah. When one team was awake, the other teams were sleeping inside of the pods! _That’s_ why none of the teams ever saw each other.”

“That’s all I’ve figured out so far… but looking at these times, I’ve realized something else.”

“What’s that?”

There was a bit of worry in Sigma’s voice as he spoke, and when Diana answered it seemed perfectly justified.

“The sleeping drugs in the bracelets for Sigma and I are going to be injected soon…”

“And then you’ll forget all of this?”

“ _Not good_. What can we do?”

Diana again seemed to have all the needed answers, and started leading the group of them further into the shelter. They arrived at a strange room, with a device that Carlos could only describe as ‘alien’ located inside of it- and after Sigma and Diana described it, that turned out to not be entirely wrong.

Carlos wasn’t entirely sure he _believed_ that this was an alien machine and not just an elaborate ploy, but he also didn’t have reason to believe otherwise either. After all, Sigma and Diana were here, walking, despite having been executed in this history. If that wasn’t proof enough of the transporter’s validity, then Carlos didn’t know what was.

The announcement that came on to send D team to sleep was exactly on time, but they’d been prepared. They slipped some strange cards under the bracelets, and the needles broke- they were safe.

“Woohoo! It worked!”

The kid was celebrating, and Carlos couldn’t hide a smile. For him to still be able to smile (or at least, Carlos _assumed_ he was smiling) was a good thing, after everything he must’ve seen and been put through this far.

“So, what _is_ that?”

The question was a valid one, and Carlos could hardly blame Eric for asking it. Diana and Sigma both nodded, and it was Diana who once again began explaining.

“Apparently, it’s not of this world. Some sort of alien intelligence made them, just like the transporter. Well, not that you’d really believe me about that…”

Eric scoffed and looked away- it seemed as though he was starting to come around. He’d calmed down a lot since they’d started explaining, and Carlos had a feeling that they’d started managing to get through to him.

“Ok, so… I get the location and time parts. We were never really separate, and instead, we were all in the same wards. Time was the opposite- we were never awake at the same time, there was only ever one team active at any given point. But- But that just means all of your alibis are _gone!_ Any one of you could’ve killed Mira or Junpei.”

“Which means… the killer is among us…”

“Exactly.”

Eric hadn’t raised the gun, but he was still holding onto it tightly.

“Which means… _you two_ are the most suspicious! If you’re fakes, then the rules probably don’t apply to you- you could come and go as you please.”

“Eric, I already told you! We’re _not_ fakes!”

“We transported to this timeline via that device over there.”

“Then go ahead and turn it on! Show me!”

“That’s…”

Diana’s face fell, and Sigma clenched his fists.

“Once it’s been used, it won’t work for another ten months. It takes that long to recharge its energy.”

“Wait- so if it’s never been used, then it’ll definitely work?”

Carlos was forming a plan. If he could get Aoi, Junpei and himself to this transporter, in the other timeline, then he could _absolutely_ save them! All they’d need to do was make it to a timeline where they weren’t in danger.

“Hey, just what are _you_ plotting? That doesn’t change the fact that you’re still among the suspects- well, there’s no question with you. We all saw you kill Aoi.”

“That _wasn’t me_. It was the other me, the one who was _originally_ in this history.”

“Go ahead and spew more crap- I’ll shoot you for that.”

“I-it’s true! I swear it!” Okay, so maybe Eric still wasn’t entirely stable. He was definitely _better_ , but _not_ perfect. “Aoi and I found Junpei’s body in this history. His killer was unknown, but… if you check his corpse, he left a clue.”

Carlos still didn’t want to say it- telling Eric now would still be a bad idea, it’d be better for him to see for himself.

“Aoi… I think we had a misunderstanding. He made a mistake and cut my hand off, then in a panic, I reacted- my body had moved before I even knew what I was doing. It was an accident, I think.”

“So then… that’s how you lost your left hand?”

“I can show you the wound if you want more proof. Although, I’d rather not with him here…”

Even if the kid had presumably seen Aoi’s corpse, that didn’t mean Carlos wanted to go waving his stump of an arm in his face.

“So, then… all of it was just… by mistake? You attacked Aoi because you thought he was going to kill you?”

Carlos nodded. That didn’t make it any better, but at least Sigma had finally stopped looking at him like he was a serial killer or something.

“Hey… isn’t that enough, Eric? Could you _please_ put down the gun for a second?”

It was honestly surreal to watch the kid’s actions- he was so dramatically different than the robot from the other history. He didn’t know _why_ they would look so alike- what possible gain could Zero get from making a replica of him? Replica was the only answer that could explain things, yet it only raised more questions.

“Well then, why don’t you just _show_ me this SHIFT thing you claim you can do.”

“Alright.”

Carlos had realized that it was probably insane, but it was the only way he could get back to the other history. If he had Eric kill him now, then he could save Aoi and Junpei… it would work!

“I’ve just got two conditions. First- Diana, Sigma. Can you show me how to work this thing? I think I’ll definitely need to use it in the other history.”

They nodded, and held up a handful of cards to the tall pillar.

“You have to put these in the correct order, like this. The nucleus will turn on, and then you can set your destination using this screen. Finally, you have to get into the input pods- you can transport many objects, but if you’re transporting a human, it can _only_ be one per pod. Do you think you can remember everything?”

Carlos nodded, and smiled.

“Alright, sorry to make you wait, Eric. My second condition was… Sigma, can you take him out of the room?”

He pointed to the kid, and gave him a soft smile. Sigma didn't look happy with Carlos, but after a short sigh, he nodded and started to pull the kid out of the room. It was Diana who seemed to have the most problem with what he was doing, staring at him with horror.

"Carlos, you can't seriously be planning to..."

"It's ok, Diana. I promise I'll be fine."

She clearly wasn't convinced, but she didn't have any more time to argue him before Eric spoke up once more.

"Just what the hell are you planning, Carlos?"

 

“I have to go save Aoi and Junpei. I’m the _only one_ who can save them now.”

“What- they’re already dead!”

“In this history, yeah. But in the other one, the one I came from- they’re still alive, and they need my help.”

“I told you, next time you talked crap, I’d shoot you!”

“Do it, then.”

“What?”

“Shoot me! I won’t die. Even if this body is destroyed, my mind-”

And he was gone, being propelled back through the morphogenetic fields where his body was waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I wasn't going to write Carlos's POV, but then I realized there's a huge chunk of explanation missing if I don't. I mean sure, I'm betting all of you've already played ZTD so you know exactly what happened, but I also just really like Carlos and wanted to write him a little bit. (Plus, it's always bothered me how he's just like "oh hey eric, please shoot me in front of this small child that wont scar him at all" like Carlos, no,)


	2. Reprieve

“ _raaaaAAAAAUUUUGH!_ ”

Junpei turned his head from Aoi as he heard Carlos scream. He looked incredibly disoriented- and then he stopped, blinked, and started yelling at them.

“Aoi! Junpei! You need to follow me!”

“Hold on, what the fuck is going on?”

Junpei was referring to the walls. The thing that had attacked them’s head was lodged into the wall, and as a result, it was as if they’d just ‘glitched out’. Nearly everything in the lounge was textureless now, just a cold gray that reminded him of a powered down computer screen- it was freaky.

“There’s no time, just _follow!_ ”

He had no reason to argue Carlos, so he nodded in agreement. Junpei helped Aoi to his feet and followed after Carlos, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. He couldn’t tell if it was bruised or broken, but there was _definitely_ a problem with his ribs- he’d just have to hope that he hadn’t punctured a lung, or he could be in big trouble.

There was no more time for words, and Carlos set off towards a door that Junpei was fairly certain hadn’t been there before. He started off running, but realized Junpei and Aoi weren’t following as quickly, and slowed down. It took them a while, but they eventually made it to a strange room, the likes of which Junpei could only describe as “alien”.

Carlos took the time on the way there to describe what had just happened to him. The jump to the other history, the overlapping wards- but most importantly, the transporter.

“So, where’s our destination?”

“That’s… hmm…”

So, Carlos hadn’t figured that out yet.

“Its appears… as if you’ve _finally_ arrived.”

It was a hologram projection in the room, quite clearly showing the face (or more accurately, the mask) of the one who’d trapped them here.

“ _Zero…_ ”

“You _asshole!_ Where are you!”

“Let me make one thing clear for you. I no longer exist in this world. In the current history, I was executed by one among you. Your fellow teammate, Carlos.”

“I- what?”

“As such, I will be unable to answer any of your questions. You are speaking to a recording- if you are _desperate_ for answers, I suggest finding me where I am alive. Unfortunately, in that history, our positions are reversed and the three of you are dead. But, if you _do_ come, I will share vital information. I’ll be waiting to meet with you.”

Junpei clenched his fists. Of _course_ Zero couldn’t make this easy for them. There was no possible way for them to SHIFT to that history, if their bodies were dead- so what could they do? There was still only one sure-fire way for Carlos and Aoi to get out, and that was for him to…

“We’re going to have to transport.”

Carlos spoke before Junpei could try to act on his thoughts, cutting off any potential for argument before it even started.

“Carlos, are you certain?”

“Yeah, Aoi. If we use the transporter, we can send ourselves to the history where we were executed. It _will_ work- there’s no way that anyone used it in this timeline. I’m sure of it.”

Carlos was the one to set up the machine, and he managed to input the proper timepoint before nodding to Aoi and Junpei both.

“Alright. Once I pull this lever, you two have to get into the pods. Then, I can send you both to the other history.”

“What, what about _you?_ We’re not leaving you behind, Carlos.”

Junpei was staring at him, arms crossed and refusing to move. Before any argument could be had, however, the door slid open. The robot or whatever from before seemed to have managed to remove itself from the wall in order to follow them.

“Shit- there’s no time! Junpei, I _swear_ I’ll make it to you guys, ok? Just get in the pods!”

“Carlos, I’m not leaving you behind-“

“ _Just get in!_ ”

Carlos pulled the lever and shoved Junpei hard, who was thrown too off balance to retaliate properly. He watched as Carlos ran over to wrestle the robot thing- _fuck_ , there was nothing he could do! In the end all he could do was resign himself to fate and climb into the pod.

“Carlos, you’d better show up! If you don’t- if you don’t, I’ll kill you!”

“Heh, alright. It’s a promise.”

The last thing he saw was Carlos giving him a confident smile and Aoi’s worried stare before the pod shut closed. There was noise and light as it activated, drowning out whatever was happening outside- and then a blistering heat erupted, and he was gone forever.

* * *

 “Ugh, where _is_ he?!”

Junpei was tapping his foot on the ground, arms crossed and looking back and forth anxiously. He and Aoi had both managed to transport safely to the other timeline, but no matter how long they waited, Carlos wasn’t arriving.

“I swear, if that idiot got himself killed…”

Junpei would never forgive him for that, if he’d sacrificed himself to let them out. Junpei would _absolutely_ never forgive him.

“Don’t even think about that, Junpei. He’s just gotten held up- that’s gotta be it. After all, he promised…”

“I’m going to go check in the lounge. Maybe he just got out before us, or something.”

“Junpei, wait up!”

He ignored the pain in his chest and ran off, looking for Carlos. Upon exiting the hallway, he found that he was in ward D. It was disorienting, but at least he knew how it was possible from Carlos’s explanation earlier. He was nowhere to be found, so he set off once more towards the decontamination room- and what he found stopped him dead in his tracks.

The entire decontamination room had caved in, leaving no possible way to enter. He doubted he’d be able to clear the rubble when he was in normal physical shape; and as he was now, there was absolutely no way he could do it.

“Shit… I should tell Aoi.”

He turned and walked back to the lounge, no longer having the energy to run as a result of the pain, and found that Aoi had already made his way there after Junpei. Aoi went to take a look and came back worried, and Junpei couldn’t blame him.

“I think there was an explosion.”

“Huh?”

“Well, just look at the damage. I highly doubt anything else could’ve caused a cave-in on that scale…”

“But, who would do that?”

Aoi turned to point at the X-pass board, which only had five names on it. The other side read _UNAUTHORIZED ESCAPE_ as well as Sigma, Diana, and Phi, which had to mean it was them. They’d used a bomb to escape the facility, instead of playing the decision game.

“D team must’ve set the bomb, and then the ceiling collapsed after they escaped.”

“Damn…”

They just stood in silence for a while, not really sure what to say or do, when the televisions in the lounge switched on. On the other side of the screen was Zero; probably here to taunt them.

“This history where I’m alive, and you are dead… Seems you found your way here safely. As promised, important information. First, Aoi. The history you find yourself in… is _that_ one.”

“What? No…”

“The first radical-6 patients have left, and should reach the hospital shortly. The pandemic is unavoidable now, the virus will start spreading all over the world.”

“That’s a damn lie! It _has_ to be!”

“No, it is the truth. Free the Soul’s plans are proceeding smoothly.”

“Then that means- you’re that cult’s leader?”

Junpei’s hands clenched into fists as he spoke, glaring at the monitor closest to him. This all felt like a horribly cruel joke, but he knew that there would be no punchline.

“Correct. I am the founder of Free the Soul. Many call me Brother.”

“You _bastard…_ thanks to your _shitty_ dream, _six billion people will-_ “

“Don’t be mistaken. If we do nothing now, and let time pass, an even worse future awaits. A religious fanatic will trigger a nuclear war with a terrorist attack. Eight billion- _all_ of mankind- will perish. Unfortunately, the fanatic’s identity is… unknown. Therefore, I decided to kill six billion people, in order to save the other two. That way, there’s a seventy-five percent chance of the fanatic being among the casualties. And you should know… history has proven me right.”

“So… to kill _one person_ , you’d sacrifice _six billion_.”

Junpei was trying and failing to keep himself from yelling, unable to restrain the pure hatred he felt.

“As I said, it is to save two billion people.”

“ _SHUT THE FUCK UP!_ ” He was screaming, possibly irrational- but who could blame him? Zero- Brother- was going to kill six billion people, and he clearly thought nothing of it. No matter the reason, that was _not_ a sane plan. “Do human lives really mean _that_ little to you?! If you’re so fully aware of this ‘terrorist’, then why the _fuck_ don’t you use your _goddamned cult_ to find them?! What the _fuck_ is your _problem?!_ ”

“You don’t need to agree with my methods. I only do what is necessary, to ensure the survival of myself, and this world. Besides, people will always die or be killed in an unjust manner. That’s just the way of life- right, Aoi Kurashiki?”

Aoi visibly winced when Zero spoke, and Junpei glared even harder at the screen- if only Zero was _here_ , then he’d be laying into him… dammit, that fucking _coward_.

“Your father was sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. Then, in her grief, your mother killed herself. You told your sister otherwise, to protect her… but in the end, all your protection was worthless. You were caught up in that kidnapping case as a result of your new situation, and poor little Akane died… ten years ago. That is the truth… isn’t it? Just imagine how different your life could be if your father hadn’t been accused…”

“Stop talking...”

“Hmm?”

“You don’t know _anything_ about our lives. Just _shut. up._ ”

“Seems I’ve hit a nerve, then. It is a shame, that we’re having this conversation now… rather than Akane and I, on the other history.”

It would have taken a lot to truly shock Junpei at this point, but _that_ had done it. Zero was aware of the other branch timeline, of the one where Akane was alive and Junpei had succeeded- he was aware, and yet he’d still set up this game in _this_ timeline? Junpei wanted to yell something, _anything_ at him, but he was cut off by Zero before he could start.

“And, obviously for Junpei, your life could be _very_ different as well. I’m sure you’re rather… familiar… with that timeline, considering your condition. Seems like such a shame that you’re stuck to this one.”

“You…. _You......_ ”

“Well, regardless. It  only goes to show that the smallest things have a _drastic_ influence over our lives, doesn’t it? That’s just the way it is.”

“Small- _human lives aren’t small!_ You have _no right_ to just mess with the lives of people like this!”

“Only a god should be allowed to choose who lives, and who dies. _Not_ someone like you.”

“Ironic to hear you of all people invoking any Gods, Aoi. Very well, I will let you see the _true_ God which we believe in. You of course see the clothes set there on the counter? The evening of April 12 th, 2029- wear those and take part in our ceremony. There, I shall tell you the secrets of the world.”

“There’s _no way_ I would _ever_ go!”

“No, you _will_ come. That is… if you can manage to get out of here.”

“Just watch. I’ll get out soon.”

“Of course we’ll escape, Diana and Sigma are probably already heading up a rescue team-“

“And, why should they have any reason to believe you are alive, Junpei? Remember- in this history, you both were executed.”

Junpei felt himself freeze at that. It was entirely true- there was no reason for anyone in D team to come back here. Their only possible hope was with Carlos, but he still wasn’t here… and if he wasn’t here by now, then Junpei doubted he would ever arrive for them.

“And if there’s no rescue… then the remainder of your lives will carry out at this sacred site.”

“…Sacred?”

“Yes, Aoi. This is the sacred place where the birth of Brother, founder of Free the Soul, occurred!”

“Then, you were _born_ here?”

“Yes, but raised elsewhere. The moment we were born, we were sent through time using the transporter. Back to April, 1904.”

“ _1904?!_ ”

“Wait- did you say _we_? Are you referring to your little brother?”

“It is true that I had a brother, but he was born from the family that raised me. No, I am talking about my younger sister. You know her well…”

There was a moment of silence, but Zero didn’t let it last.

“Ah, it appears I’ve spoken too long. But, I will impart you with something _very_ important- the key to opening pandora’s box, ‘ _Vive Hodie_ ’. Remember these words well, they will come in handy someday.”

Junpei didn’t recognize the language. It definitely wasn’t English, and it wasn’t Japanese either. Aoi didn’t look like he was much closer to figuring it out- and as if he could sense the confusion, Zero decided to clarify.

“It’s Latin. It means ‘live for today’.”

That was all he said, before the screens went dark, and they were left in silence. The silence was suffocating, and Junpei was realizing just how _empty_ this place was… sure, they’d be safe from radical-6, but how much could that possibly mean when the rest of humanity collapsed around them?

“…dammit, just what happened to Carlos? Where _is_ he?”

“Aoi… you shouldn’t get your hopes up.”

“Junpei…”

“Maybe… maybe nobody’s going to come to save us. It’s the ultimate abandonment- maybe, we’ve finally _truly_ been forgotten. Nobody in the entire world knows that we’re alive in here, which means it’ll only be us two, until we die. Is that even _living?_ Just waiting to die in a hopeless situation?”

“It’s not hopeless. It’s never hopeless. We can try to dig ourselves out, or we can try figuring out how to send a message- we _can’t_ give up, Junpei. We can’t.”

“Do you _really_ think we could get through all that rubble, Aoi? And the X-door will never open now- there’s no way out. Just face it… we’ve lost.”

Junpei heard the sound of paws and looked to see Gab, walking over from who-knows-where. The little dog did have good timing at least, as he sat down by Junpei in what seemed to be an attempt to cheer him up.

“Well, it’s not just the two of us, at least. We’ll figure out a way, Junpei.”

Aoi was doing his best to give a reassuring smile, and knelt down to pat Gab. He paused for a moment and pulled something out of his collar: a note.

“…anagram? What could it mean?”

Junpei tilted his head in thought at Aoi continued to examine the note, and his eyes fell on the graffiti on the wall.

“Hey, Aoi? Do you remember what it said on the wall in the ward C lounge?”

“Yeah, ‘Let the game end where I treat two’. But, why?”

“I think that’s our base phrase. But, uh… I’m not too great at longer anagrams…”

“Just give me a second.”

Aoi crossed his arms in thought and went silent. A minute passed, and then another, until he finally nodded and appeared to have come to a conclusion.

“It’s not perfect, but ‘Together with me, we are ten.’ The only thing is, if that’s what it is, then we’ve got leftover letters.”

“How many?”

“Five: L, D, A, E, T. I have no idea what it could make, though…”

“Ok…”

It was Junpei’s turn to think now. For five letter words, he could think of ‘delta’ or ‘dealt’. But neither of those sounded like they’d fit in. It was the same problem if he went down to smaller words. He was either stuck with leaving a letter out, or utter nonsense like ‘ad tel’ or ‘de alt’- technically _words_ , but made no sense in the sentence.

 “Well, anyways… what do you think it means?”

“It could be saying… that there was ten of us here.”

“What? Wait, no… no….”

Junpei walked over to the X-pass board as quickly as his aching chest would allow, and started staring at it. There were only nine names listed… but there was one mystery.

The thing that had attacked them.

If he counted that, then was it possible? He figured that yes, that _had_ to be it, when he realized something more.

“Why isn’t Q on the board?”

“Well, he’s not dead, I guess.”

“He’s… still alive?”

Junpei brought a hand to his chin in thought, and continued to stare at the board. Q was alive… Zero was alive in this timeline, but had been executed in the other… and in that other timeline, it was Q team who’d died. That meant… the only person who could be Zero, who could be _Brother_ , was Q himself.

If he thought about what they’d been _told_ , it didn’t make any sense… but if he remembered his instincts, it made _perfect_ sense. He’d felt immensely uncomfortable on that entire ride out to Dcom on the first day, and if Q’s disabilities had just been an act, then it all added up.

“Zero is… Q?”

He couldn’t say anything more before an explosion sounded, stopping any conversation before it started. Junpei jumped fast to cover Aoi, ignoring the pain and protecting him from the small bits of shrapnel flying about. When he finally stood up to see what had caused the blast, he found himself near face-to-face with a masked person, dressed in a firefighter’s outfit.

“Sorry for the wait. Or, well… I guess I was the one who waited. But still, I promised, didn’t I? That I’d come back for you?”

“Wait… Carlos?!”

He removed the helmed to answer Aoi’s question, revealing it to indeed be Carlos.

“I’m here to save you guys.”

“Carlos…. You fucking idiot! Why’d you wait so long?!”

“H-huh?”

“Ugh, you had me worried! Next time, show up faster.”

“O-oh, um…”

“Anyways, let’s go now.”

Carlos looked a bit off put at Junpei’s sudden yelling, and wasn’t quite fast enough to see the relief on Junpei’s face. It wasn’t just relief that they were getting out, it was relief that Carlos had made it out alive. He was alive too… for now, Junpei just needed to focus on the small victories. For now, this was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize until replaying, that you can tell that Junpei's figured out (or at least very close to figuring out) who Zero is in this part. Makes sense, considering he is a detective, I'd just forgotten about that detail.


	3. Fly me to the Moon

The ride up and out of the facility was a silent one. Aoi continued to look between Junpei and Carlos- he knew Junpei had been trying to hide it, but he was clearly injured. His breathing had been pretty shallow, and he was favouring one leg- it had to be from their run-in with the strange ‘kid’.

By the time they reached the surface there were already medical responders ready, and fully prepared. They started fussing over him and Junpei both- Junpei didn’t seem to have much luck escaping them, as they started checking him out more thoroughly. By the time he was eventually released and walked back over to Aoi and Carlos, it had been a solid half hour.

“So, Carlos… can you tell us how you got here in the first place?”

“Well, I SHIFTed to the history where I’d pressed the yellow button. Then, I used the transporters to go back ten months, so that you and Junpei would be able to use them to get to this history!”

“…and you didn’t _once_ think of trying to _stop_ Zero?”

“U-uh… If I did that, then I’d never have met you or Aoi.”

Aoi couldn’t blame Junpei for being mad- he was angry at Carlos as well, but he wasn’t sure it was for the same reasons. There was a perspective from which Carlos’s actions made sense, after all. If he’d stopped the decision game, then he’d never have had the chance to transport in the first place- it had the potential to cause a paradox, depending on how events afterwards played out. No, that wasn’t why Aoi was angry. He was angry because of something that was entirely out of Carlos’s control- futility. Everything he’d ended up fighting for had been futile… and now, He’d have to leave. Perhaps, then, it was _jealousy_ , and not anger. He was jealous of the chance Carlos was going to have in this timeline, that he was about to throw away forever.

“All of that… Carlos, do you _know_ what’s happened because of you?”

“W-well…”

“Mira and Eric _died._ Sigma lost his arms and eye, and he’s in the hospital. Not to mention, because you didn’t stop Zero… _six billion people are going to die._ We’re already too late… there’s no way to stop the virus from spreading anymore.”

“No…”

The reality of what had happened was finally hitting him, thanks to Junpei's words. Aoi wished there’d been some other way, some possible way for him to clear Carlos’s conscience- but he needed to know all of this for what was to come. He needed to know, so he could protect Junpei.

“It’s true, Carlos. We’re about to face the apocalypse- it’s the end. I have no choice now… I have to finish what she started. For the sake of Akane, and the world… I have to make sure the AB project is a success.”

“The AB project?”

“I’m going to spend the next 45 years preparing to call Sigma and Phi’s consciousnesses to the future, where they’ll participate in the ambidex game. Then, and only then, will they have a chance at finally preventing this horrible future… only they can do it, now. That’s the _only way_ to save all of those people.”

“I’ll help you, Aoi. Let me join Crash Keys, or whatever you called it. _Please,_ Aoi.”

He could feel the shivers running down his spine, but he had no choice. He hated himself for this, and he hated that he had no choice… but Junpei couldn’t be allowed to remember. If he remembered, then his leaving would only become more painful…

“I can’t do that, Junpei.”

“ _Why?!_ ”

“I just… I’m going to need you to forget.”

“Aoi-“

“I’m sorry, Junpei. I’m really, really sorry.”

He moved before Junpei could react, and pressed the bracelet in his hand down onto Junpei’s wrist. The effect was immediate, and Junpei slumped to the ground. Aoi forced himself not to look away- this was the last time he’d be allowed to see Junpei for 45 years, so he absolutely couldn’t look away.

“No… you can’t be… why…?”

“Junpei… I will _never_ forget you. But please… forget about me. You have to forget about me.”

“I.. don’t want to…”

Aoi watched as Junpei struggled to sit up, reaching for him with a lethargic hand. He could feel his heart shattering, and he forced back tears- not now. The moment he’d chosen this path, he’d given up the right to cry. His only choice was to look forwards, to give up everything once again, and pray that _this_ time, maybe the _next_ Aoi would have a chance at being happy.

“I’ll never forget… no matter what happens, I won’t… forget… you……”

His hand fell to the ground as Junpei finally passed out, and Aoi stared at the night sky. In another situation, he could’ve called it beautiful- but now, with the moon hanging low in the sky, it was only a cruel reminder of the prison that he was going to be confining Sigma to, and that he would eventually call home as well.

“Aoi, _why?_ ”

“I do what I must to accomplish my goals. That’s simply… who I am. I will cast aside everything that I am if I need to, in order to ensure that life has a chance.”

“That’s insane…”

“It’s necessary. One person’s happiness is nothing, if sacrificing it will save the lives of six billion people. Even if I must die, I… I swear I’ll make the AB project a success.”

He started to walk away, but Carlos grabbed onto his arm.

“What about Junpei? What could I possibly tell him? Do you want me to _lie?_ ”

“If you want to make up for the six billion lives that you’ve cost… then yes. You’ll lie to him.”

It was cruel, but he had no choice. Carlos _had_ to lie to Junpei, no matter what. Because if Junpei remembered, if he knew the truth… Aoi feared it would break whatever was left of him.

“I-I… what the hell do you want me to _say?_ ”

“Tell him I’m dead.”

“No.”

“Then tell him I hate him. Tell him I jumped off a cliff from radical-6, tell him I moved to a different continent because I married a random person, tell him I went undercover and will never see him again, _I DON’T CARE!_ Just, tell him _anything!_ “

“Aoi… why are you doing this to yourself.”

“I told you Carlos, I don’t matter. I never have.”

“He’d get mad at you for saying that.”

“Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think this is what I _want?_ Do you think I _wanted_ to spend my life dedicated to all of this? Of _course_ not! I would give anything just to have a life where none of this had _ever_ started in the first place, but that’s not an option! My only choice now is to keep moving forwards, no matter the consequences. It’s all I have left.”

He’d clenched his fists and pulled himself from Carlos’s grasp as he started yelling, turning to look away from Junpei’s sleeping body. If he could pick any life, he’d pick one where the first nonary game had never happened, and maybe him, Akane, and Junpei could’ve all been friends- but that was impossible, now.

“Aoi, _please_.”

“I’m sorry, Carlos. You’re never going to see me again. Oh, but… remember April 13th, 2029. That’s the day the world ends.”

“ _What?!_ ”

“Just… keep him safe. I’ll have some of my people tell you where to go, there’s a shelter that was prepared beforehand. There’ll be some people there already, likely, but you can wait for the fallout to be over. As well, tell Junpei to get in contact with anyone he cares about. If he wants them safe, he’ll tell them to get to a bunker, or anything to protect from the virus.”

With that, Aoi finally walked away. He could hear Carlos calling after him, but he no longer responded- there was nothing more to say.

Once he was out of sight, Aoi’s hand went to the choker he still wore. He’d considered giving it back- but no, he couldn’t. If he couldn’t be with Junpei, if he couldn’t see him for the next 45 years, then he would at _least_ keep his gift. It would be all that he could ever have of Junpei, now.

“Junpei… I hope that next time we meet, we’ll both be alive.”

The cruelty of the ambidex game was not lost on him. He knew that in a majority of the timelines that spawned from that game, he was going to die. And he knew that in all of them, his death was going to crush Junpei even further.

“I’m sorry, Junpei… I loved you.”

He couldn’t say ‘I love you’. He’d given up the right the second he’d injected Junpei- no, the second he’d decided that humanity was more important than his feelings. So instead he’d say the next best thing, and pray that Junpei wouldn’t have to feel this same ache in his soul that Aoi was certain would never leave.

“I’ll see you in forty five years… I hope.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, the big ending, the lead-up to VLR. This fragment was so enjoyable to write, but it was also a painful one to write. Aoi gave up so much of his life to the first nonary game to ensure that Akane would live, but then it failed, and now he's going to spend the next 45 years working towards another nonary game, and in this one he dies on like 8/9 main timelines. Beyond that, he knows that he's abandoning Junpei and hurting him in a way that he might not ever really recover from, AND he's breaking a promise to Akane to live for himself.
> 
> Something of interest, on the topic of "where's carlos on all the other timelines": I'm definitely going to be doing after ending drabbles (already working on one lol), but I don't know if I'm going to really be addressing this on all of them. There's a couple that I know I can in the story, but for one or two in particular I'm either not sure how to do it, or I know that there's other fanfics out there who can describe my general idea waaaaay better and I don't want to step on their toes. Plus, that doesn't even go into other possible timelines- like what if Carlos hadn't come for them? It'd be their own D-2 end.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading! There's probably only going to be one or two more fics in the main series, depending on how I cut things up, but I do hope you look forwards to them! I have a lot of ideas for the ending, and I hope I can deliver for all of you. Thank you for reading!
> 
> edit: I've posted the post-ending for this fic, which is also the vlr-lead in! You can read it here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10587861/chapters/23402556


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